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Kids have fun with rabbits at the Morgan County Fair

The Catch-it rabbit contestants get ready at the very beginning of the Morgan County Fair rabbit contest Friday. (Dan Barker/Times)

Kids have just as much fun with their small animal 4-H projects as with the larger animals.As fewer people live on farms, small animals have become more and more popular for 4-H projects, and rabbits are one of those species that kids really enjoy, said Morgan County Extension Agent Marlin Eisenach during the Morgan County Fair Rabbit Show Friday.Rabbits are easier to show and to care for, said Michayla Zink, 17, of Fort Morgan. She started showing rabbits after she was inspired by working with rabbit Superintendent Jennifer Tormohlen, Zink said.She showed two rabbits this year, and is something of an expert now.She demonstrated how to hold a rabbit with her arm under its body and with its head near the top of her arm so it could hide. That makes rabbits feel more secure, Zink said.It helps if children start showing rabbits through the catch-it rabbit program, she said. That program has classes to help them get started.Zink said she keeps her cages full of rabbits in a barn. She tries to keep them in cages that have a very close mesh so that the animals do not get their claws caught in the wire on the bottom of the cage.Daily care is not too bad. It only takes about 15 minutes to feed and water her rabbits. However, cleaning the cages can take all day, she said.Manure piles up under the cages, and that is put into a compost pile for gardening, Zink said.

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Rabbits are a great experience for kids, since they usually don't give children too much difficulty, she said, although it is probably best if they start out with the smaller breeds like the mini-Rex.About 20 to 25 kids showed rabbits this year, Tormohlen said.As with other animals, the kids have struggled against the extreme heat this summer. They can help keep rabbits cool by putting out water bottles in which the water has been frozen, she said.Rabbits are shy animals in the wild, not getting out into the sunlight much. They are sensitive to heat. If one was to be free to hop around the fairgrounds, it would quickly die from the sunlight and heat, Tormohlen said.She said she can help kids learn about rabbits by coming to talk with them during their projects. She can do mock judging to give them an idea of what it will be like during real judging.Judges look at the paws, ears, eyes and fur to see that a rabbit is in good condition and has no diseases, Tormohlen said.Wyatt Halley, 12, of Gary brought 43 rabbits so he could compete in every category. It was his third year raising rabbits and he had really gotten into it, he said.He said he likes to watch them grow and improve in quality over time.It takes a good half hour to feed that many animals, and four hours to clean out the shed he keeps them in, Halley said.He put a fan in the shed to combat the heat this summer.Last year, he had several champions and made the livestock sale, so he had a real motive to try again, Halley said.His family used to supply the U.S. Air Force with rabbits. When that contract ended, the family still had a number of rabbits, which is how he took up raising them, he said.Raising rabbits just sounded like fun, said Kealy Langford.She was showing her rabbit, "Larry," in her first year of showing rabbits. This was the first year she was old enough to show animals, she noted.Rabbits are fun, but are more work than many people suspect, Langford said.She was also showing lambs and goats at the fair.